Posts Tagged ‘brush’

As a makeup artist, there are about five questions that I get asked over and over. I get this one the most: how do I prevent my undereye concealer from creasing? I totally get it! You conceal your undereyes either because you have dark circles or because you love to brighten the area. Then you look in the car mirror and it’s creased. Not cool. But that’s only because you didn’t set it right! We tend to apply a little more concealer than we need and the excess product travels and settles into the creases. All can be prevented if we only took a second to absorb the excess with a quick press of tissue then an immediate setting with powder. Yes powder! A lot of my clients fear powder in the undereye area because they feel like it will settle in their lines and make them look older. I promise you if you follow these steps with these products, it will not crease. I can only feel confident saying that because I do it on all of my clients and myself and have for a very long time. Here’s how you can too:

Your Favorite Setting Powder — this ($$)is what I’ve been using on all of my girls this summer because one of my makeup idols Robin Siegel (who did the makeup for Jen, Courtney and Lisa for years on Friends) taught me about it and it never fails to set everything but not be cakey.

A Powder Puff — I love this one ($$) and this one ($). If you haven’t added a puff into your tool kit yet, you’re killing me! It presses the powder into the skin so it stays put.

STEPS:

Apply concealer to the undereye area. Revisit this post to make sure you’re doing the right!

Wrap a tissue around your finger and press it on the concealer you just applied.

Continue lifting and pressing along the undereye area to remove the excess product that would have ended up creasing.

Set it with powder by pressing the puff against the pressed powder then pressing it over the undereye area.

Ok, we’re going there today… how to cover up a pimple! I don’t know a single soul who has never had a blemish. I get mine monthly and get them on my body from time to time as well. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or upset about… it’s just part of being a human being; and when they creep up on us, there’s no need to fret. But let me be the first to tell you covering up is a three-part process. If you skip one of the three (most people just apply concealer), it won’t fully cover it or last that long. This is still a quick method and well worth it! Here’s how:

You might have noticed that the beauty world has become obsessed with Strobing! It’s hot right now, even though it’s actually been around for ages. Basically strobing is just highlighting areas that you want the light to hit and reflect off of, bringing those features forward and stealing all of the attention. Typically we pair highlighting with contouring (revisit my Highlight & Contour Tutorial for more) but it’s quite beautiful on its own. Especially in the Summer months when we let our skin glow and come alive. So let’s take a moment to walk through how I like to do it!

I learned this little trick from my idol Mary Greenwell when we were on a press tour in Rome, Madrid and London (she was doing Cate Blanchett’s makeup and I was doing Geoffrey Rush’s grooming for Elizabeth The Golden Age). I love that it’s incredibly subtle but brings the lid to life with a tiny twinkle when you blink or look down. No glitter. Nothing to hit you over the head. Just a hint of frost to catch and reflect the light. Here’s how:

Your Favorite Mascara — I used this favorite one on Eva to really separate and coat each lash.

STEPS:

Sweep the lavender/lilac shade all over the lid and crease.

Trace it along the bottom lashes as well.

Press your finger into the frosted lighter shade and stamp it on the center of your lid. You might have to do it twice to really make it pop!

Wet a liner brush and dip it in the darker shadow. Trace it along the upper lashline. You can also wing it out like I did.

Pinch the lashes with the curler.

Finish with a couple coats of mascara.

Heaven! And speaking of, I was lucky enough to convince the heavenly Eva Amurri Martino to model for us! You probably recognize her from Undateable, Californication and Saved, or because she looks a lot like her mom Susan Sarandon! She just launched her new lifestyle blog Happily Eva After and it will quickly become one of your favorite reads. So good!